A View to Something Beautiful

EMMERT

When Hailey Smith was a sophomore, she decided to take Advanced Drawing Studio with Carole Harris. Hailey wasn’t always the most “Artsy” person. She had never been known as the “The Kid Who Could Draw, ” but did have a lot of ideas. “It was like I could see the image in my head, but once I went to put it on paper it never turned out the same.” Hailey says. “That’s why I chose to take art. I wanted to get my ideas out of my head for everyone else to see.”
Now a junior at Heritage High School, Smith tried different mediums before settling on painting. She took a photography class and attempted sculpture, but neither seemed to leave her satisfied. She always felt as if there was something more she could do, or didn’t feel as if she had put enough of herself into each piece to call it her own. “Painting is just something that feels right with me.” Hailey says. “When the brush is in my hand running along the paper, I feel like I can make anything without the judgment of anyone else. It’s as if (the work) has always been a part of me.”
When Hailey discovered painting she knew this was what she wanted. “I love mixing colors, and making something beautiful out of something so basic,” she says. “It just seemed like painting was something that fit who I was. I didn’t just choose to paint. It was as if I found something that was always with me, and all I had to do was learn how to use it.” Through her painting, Hailey has found a love of the pastoral in her work, focusing on the scenery of plants and flowers. The colors and shapes seem to just stand out to her more than anything else.
In May of 2010, one of Hailey’s pieces was displayed in the Evergreen Public Schools Art Show. The piece was titled “The Sadness”, and was showcased in Olympia, Washington for several months.
“I’ve never really considered how my art reflected how I saw the world.” Hailey says. “I guess in a way every painting I do is my own personal view on something beautiful.” She puts a little bit of herself into each of her paintings. “I guess in a way,” Hailey says, “my paintings don’t really reflect how I see the world, but they reflect the way I see myself.” In her mind, every painting tells a story, every portrait of an unknown character has its own story, and every flower has its own detail that makes it its own being. Read more →

THE BOTTOM OF THE BOX

EMMERT

Pandora’s Box is a relic of Greek Mythology, a box said to contain all the evil that could ever befall men. It was not to be opened, but Pandora (being human) had a natural sense of curiosity and lifted the lid. Wickedness was released unto the world, and by the time the box was closed, all had escaped and spread throughout the earth. Only one thing remained- Hope.
This photographic series is intended to explore the subject of hope and its elusiveness. People are in a state of struggle and often blinded by their despair. They cannot distinguish the light from their darkness. To them, there is no tomorrow, just now. However, in reality, hope is all around us. You just have to look hard enough to find it.

-Writing and Photographs by Andrew Truong
[zenphotopress album=11 sort=title number=100]

lighting dancing painting

EMMERT


We’re studying slow shutter speed in Photo 1 right now. Ivy Remington went into a dark room and outlined Mckenzie Walker 24 times with a flashlight. I put the shots into a sequence and added a Portishead song. The result? 24 seconds of “light painting” awesomeness.

b.i.r.d.

EMMERT

[media-credit name=”Image courtesy Harrison Allred” align=”alignleft” width=”575″][/media-credit]

Sgt. Jackson, also known to those in the battalion as “Black Jack,” stared at the sky. There seemed to be something in it. He could hear a buzzing in his ears—not loud, but definitely there. It was getting louder and more irritating. Jackson closed his eyes and started to fall into the dark, until he realized the buzzing sounded like screaming. His eyes snapped open and he saw a marine leaning over him.
“Get up now, sir!” the man yelled, looking terrified,“They’re almost here!”
Black Jack rose to a sitting position, and the marine reached out his hand and helped him to his feet.
“Where are the others?” Black Jack asked.
“Already took cover in the bunker, sir,” the marine said. “We need to get there, too”.There was a screaming from the sky, and then a crater and pile of wreckage appeared right ahead them. Black Jack was knocked to the ground, losing his breath. He looked to where the marine had been standing and saw him on the ground, a shard of metal the size of a forearm going through his neck. The marine’s eyes looked out, unblinking… Read more →